Raise for Superintendent Jones sparks debate

Superintendent David Jones' recent pay raise and the treatment of teacher assistants were the main topics of discussion at Monday's Henderson County School Board meeting.

At the August meeting, the board approved a nearly 19 percent raise for Jones, for a total salary of $166,625. Although the salary is still below the state average, some in the community have been upset over the amount of the increase.

Acknowledging that “tough decisions have to be made” in a poor economy, Chairman of the Henderson County Republican Party Andrew Riddle said he felt Jones' raise of more than $26,000 could be better put to use in the classroom, where “teachers make all the difference.” He asked the group whether they would consider reallocating the raise.

“We all agree that more has to be done for public education,” he said. “We all agree that teachers are undervalued. That $26,000 is one more TA.”

Jones didn't respond, and board Chairman Ervin Bazzle told Riddle the decision was not up to Jones. Attorney Dean Shatley of Campbell Shatley, an Asheville firm that advises the board, said Riddle should not expect an answer to his question during the public comment portion of a school board meeting.

Before the meeting, Bazzle confirmed that Jones had not yet signed his new contract.

In an opening statement before Riddle's remarks, board member Amy Lynn Holt pointed out that when Jones was promoted to superintendent, it was at the same pay rate as his assistant superintendent salary. In choosing not to fill Jones' old position — essentially asking him to do both jobs — the board had agreed to review his salary and job duties after one year, she said. That never happened.

“If the board would have gone ahead and paid him what his position requires three years ago,” the current controversy over his raise wouldn't exist, she said.

Holt also wanted to make it clear that the board “did not take any monies from the classroom” for the raise. The funds came from the central office budget.

“I agree the timing of this stinks,” she said, as teacher assistant positions are not being filled, “but the state sets teacher salaries,” not the board.

“I don't feel that if the state is treating teachers poorly, the board should do the same to its superintendent,” she added. She said she's heard rumors that Jones' raise has hurt teacher morale.

“That's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard,” she said, adding that in past years, teachers have received raises when administrators haven't, and none of those teachers “declined their raises” so as not to hurt morale among administrators.

Holt said Henderson County Public Schools is the largest employer in the county. According to the school system's website, the district has a student population of more than 13,500 in 23 schools, taught by more than 900 teachers. The system has 1,700 total employees.

“Mr. Jones is responsible for more jobs in the county than anyone else,” Holt said. She noted that even with the raise, Jones is not making the average pay of all superintendents in the state.

Prior to Jones' raise, he was among the lowest-paid superintendents in districts of similar size across North Carolina. Superintendents are paid mostly with state funds within salary ranges determined by the average daily membership, or enrollment, of the school system. Additional details such as level of education and length of service to a school district also are considered.

Jones has been with the school system since 1978, when he was an elementary school teacher and a coach. He has served as superintendent since 2010. According to the N.C. School Superintendents' Association, there are 115 superintendents in the state, of which 88 hold doctorates and 27 do not, including Jones. Superintendents with doctorates can earn up to an additional $242 per month in state funds, according to Jack Hoke, executive director of the association.

Clay Edelman, the new chairman of the Henderson County Democratic Party, said that like others in the room, at first he “had concerns” about the amount of Jones' raise. Then he reconsidered, after asking himself two questions: how many TAs would Jones' raise finance, and, if the raise were spread among all teachers, how much would each get?

“A pittance,” he reasoned.

“Good employees who are creative in dealing with the realities of their work must be paid competitively” or they'll find other opportunities, Edelman said, adding, “You get what you pay for.”

Teacher assistants

Another hot topic at the meeting was the treatment of teacher assistants. Some speakers complained that budget cuts were shortchanging TAs, while others, including two TAs, thanked the board members for their efforts to save most TA jobs despite state budget woes.

According to Senior Director of Human Resources Bo Caldwell, at the beginning of the school year, the school system had 23 fewer teacher assistant positions than last year. Those positions are not being filled.

In total, the school budget for teacher assistants has been reduced by $878,997 from the previous year.

Christopher Casey, a TA at Hendersonville Elementary, said that as rumors of Raleigh legislators slashing the budget for TAs swirled several months ago, it was “extremely agonizing” for his family. Actions in Raleigh “made us (TAs) feel disposable, like a piece of trash, if you will.”

Choking up with emotion, he then added, “I would like to thank you (the board) for how you found a way to save most of our jobs. … You have restored this instructional assistant's faith … in what I do every day.”

Lori Cavanaugh, a TA at Glenn C. Marlow Elementary, also thanked the board.

“Your support of the senior staff's suggestions while crafting this year's budget has made a difference in our county's schools,” she said. “Knowing that you value the insight and opinions of our administrators gives us the confidence to believe our children will receive the best education possible.”

She also thanked the board “for your support of teacher assistants in the classroom. Whether we're facilitating the teacher's plans, working one-on-one with a struggling student, leading a small-group instruction, or caring for the needs of a sick child — which may include lifethreatening illnesses such as diabetes — we love what we do. Thank you for allowing us to do it for one more year.”

Not everyone in the room felt as thankful, though.

Flat Rock resident Donna Tompkins, whose three children attend Henderson County schools, said she had “made a terrible mistake that requires an apology to you, our teachers and every child in our beautiful state. As a result of my worry about the economic health of North Carolina, I voted for (Rep.) Chuck McGrady, (Sen.) Tom Apodaca and (Gov.) Pat McCrory. I have the worst case of buyers' remorse as we watch our state legislators begin what I perceive as an attempt to systematically dismantle public education.”

She then pleaded with the board to “please do whatever it takes to support our teachers.”

“As you know, class sizes are no longer capped, teacher assistants have been cut, new textbooks are limited, salaries have been frozen and dissension has been silenced with the elimination of tenure. You may need to think outside the box, but please do whatever it takes to keep those unsung heroes in our classrooms. The financial health of our county and state depends on it,” she said.

Harold Hellickson of Hendersonville told the board that he reviewed data on the N.C. Department of Public instruction website “and I found the total funding per pupil at the highest level of financial support available to our public schools was during the 2008-09 school year when it reached $8,663. Adjusting that number for inflation, I find the 2011-12 school year, the last year for which data is available, was $611 per pupil short of matching the 2008-09 school year spending. Based on 1.4 million public school pupils, that's a shortfall approaching $900 million.”

He urged the board to suggest at its October meeting “what those of us citizens concerned with public schools might begin to do to turn this ship away from the shoals to which it is headed.”

In other board news, after hearing the complaint of a resident who found it difficult to contact board members by email because their email addresses aren't listed on the school board website, the board voted unanimously to add their email addresses and phone numbers to the site as soon as possible.

The board also recognized a teacher and five schools who recently have received accolades.

Beverly Meyers, an exceptional children teacher at Hendersonville Middle, has been named the 2013 Exceptional Children Teacher of Excellence for the district. Meyers will attend the 63rd conference on Exceptional Children Nov. 20-22 in Greensboro. Meyers is an inclusion/ resource teacher for sixth and seventh grades at Hendersonville Middle.

Title 1 Reward Schools

The Department of Public Instruction released a list of 174 Title I schools recognized as Title I Reward Schools for 201314.

A Reward School is a Title I school that, based on the most recent data available, has been identified as being among the highest 10 percent of all Title I schools in one of two categories:

◆ Highest- performing school: The school has the highest absolute performance over a number of years for all subgroups, including the “all students” group, on statewide assessments; or

◆ High-progress school: The school has made the most progress in improving the performance of all students over a number of years on statewide assessments.

Five county schools are on the list. Highest-performing schools named were Clear Creek, Dana and Etowah elementaries. Bruce Drysdale and Sugarloaf elementaries were named high-progress schools.

Reach Tanker at 828-6947871 or nancy.tanker@blueridgenow.com.

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